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Puget Sound Energy’s January 2012 storm report is disappointing

With the heavy rains returning here and Hurricane Sandy smashing down on large portions of the East Coast, I remembered that I hadn’t written about Puget Sound Energy’s January 2012 snowstorm report yet.

Since I had huge problems during the storm because I wasn’t able to get out of my home due to the heavy snow, I’m interested in what PSE is going to do to improve its service during storms this winter.

When I attended a public meeting March 19 before the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission on PSE’s January 2012 snowstorm management, the commissioners and the public questioned the level of vegetation management by the company. And, a PSE staff member reported parts of the telephone system didn’t work several times during the storm.

The consultants concluded, after interviewing PSE officials, that improvements PSE made after the Hanukkah Eve Windstorm in 2006 resulted in “significantly improved performance during the January 2012 storm.”

The consultants found that:

The Energy System Restoration Plan was very effective in improving the management of the storm.

Resource mobilization was very good.

Event assessment and management was effective.

Local Area Coordination sites were effective.

External communications was dramatically improved from the Hanukkah storm, but additional progress can be made.

Internal communications also improved significantly since the Hanukkah storm, but can still be enhanced.

It remains a challenge to let customers know when their power will be back on.

Based on these and other findings, the consultant recommend: enhancing the transmission restoration plan to improve coordination with the operating bases; using iPads and GPS units to communicate damage assessment data from the field rather than having the assessment called in and written down; and testing the new outage management system. The report said the new system is anticipated to do better job of letting customers know when they’ll have power again, but the manner in which it will be delivered isn’t clearly understood.

No customers were interviewed for the report, only PSE officials.

The consultant’s report: Social media and communications

Use of social media. The use of social media during the storm was called an “industry leading practice” in the report. PSE used Twitter to communicate with the media, which passed on the information so PSE didn’t need to purchase radio time or TV spots to get its message out. Customers used Facebook, Twitter, and the PSE website to get information. When there were difficulties with the PSE phone system, called the Customer Access Center, it was reported on social media so customers turned to the Internet for information, the report said.

On social media and the Internet, the report predicts that “customers will likely turn to them first before using their phone to call the CAC.”

Communications with the media. The report said PSE had a “proactive approach” to dealing with the media, which allowed it to “own” the story and not lose control of it as the days progressed. Broadcast media were told where crews were in the field. Information was timed to meet media schedules so that PSE provided “the information to be broadcast, rather than having the media come up with their own content,” the report said.

Executive visibility. Having PSE executives very visible during the storm – including interviews, going out with work crews, and visible at the command center and storm bases – “resulted in significantly more positive news stories than during the Hanukkah Eve Windstorm,” the report said

Use of Flickr. PSE hired about two dozen photographers to post photos on Flickr. This was “very effective in helping customers to understand the extent of damage and the conditions restoration crews were working in to restore power,” the report said. The result was “a significant increase in customer goodwill.”

Concerns about the report

I wasn’t able to access social media on my computers during the storm because I had no power. And, I don’t have access to the Internet on my cell phone. In addition, I couldn’t take my laptop to where there was power, because I couldn’t get out due to the deep snow.

I’m concerned that PSE plans to rely even more heavily on social media in upcoming power outages.

When reading the report, it seemed as though the PSE consultant was talking about a different storm than the one I experienced. I think an independent report should be prepared.

After the huge Connecticut snowstorm in late October 2011, the State of Connecticut asked that a report be prepared on Connecticut Power and Light’s performance.

To find out what the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission, the state agency that regulates PSE, plans to do about of PSE’s January 2012 storm response, I requested an interview with a member of the commission about the report. None of the three commissioners were unavailable for comment before my deadline.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..